The Idaho scimitar. [volume], December 14, 1907, Page 4, Image 4

About The Idaho scimitar. [volume] (Boise, Idaho) 1907-1908

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Bear Lake County Officials.
The Scimitar this week takes up for analysis the
list of officials that serve the people in Bear Lake
County, Idaho, the extreme southeastern county of
the State. It has stated many times that Mormons
and polygamists were prominent in the politics of
Idaho and that it was customary for them to seek
their reward, and to secure it when they allied them
selves to a political party.
They are now managing affairs and serving the
church under the auspices of the Republican party
and it will be seen that they are not at all modest
in their demands" in Bear Lake County. Of four
teen county officers, eleven are Mormons; of twenty
seven city and precinct officers, twenty are Mormons,
and of fifteen other officers, ten are Mormons. Of
the entire list of fifty-six officers forty-one are Mor
mons. Some of them are polygamists.
The aggregate of salaries paid to county officers
of the Mormon faith is $8,200. Of this the Mormon
church takes one-tenth—$820 per annum. The sal
aries of the other Mormon officials are not stated,
but of whatever is received, one-tenth goes to the
church. The money comes out of the tax-payers in
general, whether Mormon or Gentile, and through
a system of churchly oppression, in violation of all
constitutional protective provisions, the propeity of
the county is made to contribute to the support of
a religion.
No other church is thus favored, nor would any
other church ask to be, for other churches respect
the principles on which our government is founded.
Such a condition would not exist in Bear Lake
County if the people would rise superior to party
tyranny and shake off the incubus that politics has
placed upon them.
It will be seen that of the nine postoffice officials
named, all are Mormons, showing conclusively how
the Mormon church stands at Republican headquar
ters and with the Republican member of Congress
whose recommendations gave these Mormons posi
tions' under the Federal Government.
The six postmasters named receive salaries ag
gregating $2,505 each year and one-tenth of that
sum goes to the Mormon church. Most, if not all,
of the other postoffices in the county are served by
Mormons. The people of all the United States are
taxed to compensate these postmasters and the
church takes its inflexible one-tenth out of the pro
ceeds. It is probable that the courts of the land
would not sustain such a diversion of the public
funds.
The list of the officials in Bear Lake County is as
follows :
Auditor—William Holmes, Mormon, salary, $1,500
per annum.
Assessor—Mr. Floyd, Mormon, salary, $1,200 per
annum.
Treasurer—Fred Bunn, Mormon, salary, $750 per
annum.
Probate Judge—David Kunz, Mormon, salary, $750
per annum.
Sheriff—Frank Wright, Mormon, salary, $1,200
per annum.
Deputy Sheriff—Joseph H. Denis, Mormon, sal
ary, $600 per annum.
Deputy Auditor—Mrs. William Holmes, Mormon,
salary, $600 per annum.
School Superintendent—Miss Hermoin Hart, Mor
mon, salary not given.
County Attorney— De Mead Austin, Mormon, po
lygamist's son, salary, $1,000 per annum.
Surveyor—Ed. Bucher, Gentile, salary, $100 per
annum.
Coroner—Mr. Vincent, Gentile, salary, $100 per
annum.
County Commissioners—Lew Severich, Gentile;
Samuel E. Hytnas, Mormon; Edgar Allred, Mor
mon ; salaries, $300 each per annum.
Judge Kunz, Sheriff Wright, School Superintendent
Hart and Commissioner Allred are all from polyg
amous families.
City officers of Paris, Bear Lake County:
Mayor—W. W. Richards, Mormon.
Councilmen—Harry Athcey,
Mormon ; Robert
Price, polygamist; Walter Hoge, polygamist; Chris
Tuller, polygamist; Fred Shephers, Mormon; Wil
ferd Rich, Mormon; Edward Sutton, Mormon,
lygamist's son.
po
Secretary—Tracy Shepherd, Mormon, polygamists
son.
Treasurer—William H. Young, Gentile.
Marshal—Frank Ashay, Mormon.
City Justice—Amasa Rich, Mormon, son of a po
lygamist.
Officers of Paris precinct :
Justice of the Peace—Amasa Rich, Mormon.
Constable—Thomas Williams, Mormon.
City officials of Montpelier, Bear Lake County:
Mayor—Fred L. Cruishank, Mormon.
Councilmen—Frank Jones, Mormon; Mich. Ma
lone, Gentile ; Joseph Phelps, Mormon ; Dr. Sutton,
Mormon; Wm. Hoskins, uncertain; Duncan Mc
Lennan, Gentile.
Clerk— Chas. E. Harris, Gentile, salary, $300 per
annum.
Marshal—Thomas Buck, Gentile, salary, $75 per
month.
Night Marshal—John Knutti, Mormon, salary, $65
per month.
Street Commissioner—Thomas Barrett, Mormon,
salary, $3 per day.
Police Judge—Thomas Barrett, Mormon.
Officers of Montpelier precinct :
Justices of the Peace—William Banks, Mormon,
and Thomas Barrett.
Constable—Ed Gruenig, uncertain.
School officers of Montpelier, the only independent
school district and high school in the county:
President of the Board—Martin Winters, Mormon.
Secretary of the Board— Chas. E. Wright, Jack
Mormon.
Other Members—Henry Douglas, Gentile ; Jas.
Redman, Jack Mormon ; Dr. Sutton, Mormon ; Jos.
Robinson, Mormon.
Other officials :
Judge of District Court—Alfred Budge, Mormon,
son of Lizzie and W'illiam Budge. Lizzie is a sec
ond wife. .
Game Warden—Frank Richards, Mormon, salary,
$1,000 per annum and expenses.
Deputy Game Warden—James Dunford, Mormon.
U. S. Commissioner— De Meade Austin, Mormon.
Supt. Insane Asylum—Dr. C. A. Hoover, Jack
Mormon. Married a Mormon. Mrs. Hoover's ma
ternal grandfather was a polygamist.
Members of the Legislature—Senator Wm. S.
Rich, Mormon. Has been a polygamist.
Representatives—John Grimmett, Mormon; Jas.
Redman, Jack Mormon.
Secretary to Governor—A. E. Burrell, Gentile or
Jack Mormon.
The following are postmasters in Bear Lake
County :
Montpelier—Postmaster, Martin F. Winters, Mor
mon ; assistant postmaster, Lizzie Winters, Mormon ;
clerk, Minnie Ridd, Mormon.
Paris—Postmaster, James Nye, Mormon ; assis
tant postmaster, Miss Nye, Mormon.
Bloomington—Postmaster, Wm. H. Piggott, Mor
mon.
Fish Haven—Postmaster, Mr. Gardner, Mormon.
Ovid—Postmaster, Mrs. Petersen, Mormon.
Dingle—Postmaster, Frank Smedley, Mormon.
The Sunday Closing Movement.
The Sunday-closing movement in Europe, which
recently became operative in France, is extending the
sphere of its activity, says the Literary Digest. Eng
land is agitating to complete the tale of its suspended
activities on Sunday by an all-day closure of the
public-houses, while Frankfort has proved that it
get along without the Continental Sunday and has
instituted something of an English Sunday,
ference was held in London on November 6, attended
by delegates from all parts of England, representing
"the great religious bodies, the temperance societies,
can
A con
all political parties, and every section of the
munity."
com
The specific purpose of the convention,
the Manchester Guardian states,
what can be done to secure the inclusion of a Sunday
closing in the Licensing Bill of next session, and
how to induce the framers of the bill to 'provide for
the efficiency, stability and permanence of Sunday
closing by treating it as a national matter, and not a
question for local decision, and by providing against
the abuses and evils which arise from the Sunday
sale of intoxicating liquors in clubs, railway stations
to travelers, and by wholesale dealers.
was to consider
y yy
The chairman of the convention, Mr. R. W. Perks,
M. P., who lately visited America in the interests of
the "brotherhood idea" among Methodist denomina
'declared emphatically in favor of a universal
The Guardian reports
tions,
system of Sunday closing:
him as saying:
"The difficulties in the case of local closing are
only too manifest when you go down to the frontiers
of England and Wales. The troubles that have arisen
there would be aggravated not ten, but a hundred
or a thousandfold were every local authority in this
country permitted to adopt or reject Sunday closing.
Moreover, we have always advocated Sunday closing
not merely on religious grounds, but for economic
and labor reasons, and as an act of justice to the
working classes."
The resolution that was carried reads thus :
"That in view of the great importance of Sunday
closing and of the unanimity of Christian churches,
of. temperance reformers, of labor leaders, and of
citizens generally on the question this conference
earnestly appeals to his majesty's government to
make Sunday closing on national lines one of the
provisions of the Licensing Bill to be introduced next
session ; and that the Prime Minister and the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer be requested to receive a
deputation on the question at an early date."
Frankfort, says a correspondent of the London
Daily Chronicle, is taking the lead in "the growing
German movement for a near approach to the Eng
lish Sunday." We read :
"The shopkeepers of Frankfort (and many of the
people) did not at all like to have this Sunday rest
imposed upon them. 'Now,' said Herr Lauten
schlager [chairman of many municipal committees],
'they are accustomed to it, and nobody would agree
to restore the old conditions.' How w^as it possible
to introduce our Sunday by-laws against the will
of the inhabitants? Nothing simpler. The authori
ties thought it would be a benefit. So it was done,
" 'We must sometimes introduce reforms against
the will of the public,' said the Stadtrat, with the
smile of the benevolent despot; but explaining at the
same time that such things were done under permit
of the German Parliament. And the Jews? No end
of time was spent over the Jewish difficulty in Lord
Avebury's committee. In Frankfort, where Jews
are numerous enough, not a murmur seems to have
been heard. The good Jews take their two Sundays
instead of one, and make no fuss about it—perhaps
because it would be of no use. Of course Sunday
closing even in Frankfort is not exactly English Sun
day closing. Theaters and restaurants are not af
fected; and there are exemptions for certain busi
nesses in the early hours of the day. The municipal
tram-cars and the railways are busy. But with these
exceptions and after two o'clock Frankfort is far
more an English city on Sunday than probably any
other Continental town."
Fruit Growers Organize.
The first steps were taken last week at Council
toward the organization of the fruit growers of
Council Valley and Hornet Creek, and a repre
sentative of The Scimitar acknowledges a most
pleasant hour spent with these earnest and enthu
siastic gentlemen at this initial meeting. Council
Valley, be it remembered, is that portion of Wash
ington County that sent a display of apples down
to the fair at Boise last fall, and carried off twenty
nine premiums out of a possible forty-three,
bad showing, that.
But now the Councilites are going after still
larger things. They have accomplished wonders
without organization, without advertising, almost
without concerted effort of any kind. They propose
now
market their fruit on certain prescribed lines, to
plant more trees and choosing always the most
ketable varieties, and they propose to push the
products of Council Valley so that the outside world
will come to their doors and demand Council Valley
apples no matter what the price.
The fact of the matter is, Council Valley is awake
to her opportunities, and will some day come into
her rightful heritage. The Scimitar extends
gratulations on the showing thus far made, and
wishes the
and prosperity.
Not a
to organize, to buy their supplies together, to
mar
con
association long life and harmony
new
Secretary Taft s hurried journey across the At
lantic to his dying mother's bedside was of no avail.
She passed away on Sunday, while he was in mid
ocean.